Nobody actively seeks out ways to waste money (at least, we hope they don’t). But even if you’re the most money-savvy person on the block, you might still be wasting your money and not even realize you’re doing it. To help you identify what you might be wasting your money on, we’ve put together a list of the Top 10 Ways to Waste Your Money. Think of this as a To-Avoid list, rather than a To-Do list.
1. Text message your heart out
Texting is fun and easy, right? If you want to watch your money, or your parents' money, walk out the door, then text to your heart’s content, regardless of the texting limit your wireless plan provides. And, since text messages are charged to both the sender and the receiver, tell your friends to text you as much as they want, too. And if you're on your parents' plan, you'll probably really love getting a stern talking-to.
2. Be friendly to fees
If you’re just tired of having extra money in the bank, why not pay some extra fees? Need cash? Don’t go to your bank’s ATM machine. Find one from another bank that charges you an extra $5 to take out that $20. Rent a movie lately? Take it back two weeks late. Have a credit card? Pay the bill ten days after it’s due! You’ll be broke in no time.
3. Pay full price…for everything
Sales? Coupons? Who needs these silly things when they shop? If something is good, it should be expensive, right?
4. Miss out on maintenance
Do you own a car? Don't bother to get its oil changed regularly or its tires rotated or give it a tune up. It runs fine. And besides, you don’t have an hour to go sit at the car place. You’d rather just wait until something breaks completely, so you can spend an extra $900 to fix it. That’s just how you roll.
5. Buy things you just don’t need
You didn’t really need the every season of The Office on DVD or front-row tickets to see Beyonce or that Italian leather handbag. But you wanted them and that was reason enough. Who cares how much they cost?
6. Upgrade when you don’t really need to
That 12 gallon soda at the movie theater is only 25 cents more than the more sensible 9 gallon soda -- what a bargain! Who cares if most if it is ice that will have melted by the end of the movie that you missed half of because you had to keep getting up to use the restroom because you just drank your weight in soda? And every telephone feature known to man for only $49 a month is a steal, even though you don’t know what half of the features are for and you never use them anyway. Bigger is better and worth the extra cost. Right?
7. Buy bulk for just one person
If you live alone, and you don’t have a family of five to feed, ten gallons of milk for $10 is still a great deal! You can just freeze it, can’t you?
8. Don’t take it back
You don’t have time to return that shirt that had a hole in it that you didn’t see when you tried it on. Or those headphones that broke the moment you opened the package. Or that lotion that broke you out in hives when you put it on. You’d rather just leave them sit in your closet or in your drawer and never get used. You’ll just go buy another one.
9. Sign without reading the fine print
No one would ever try and pull a fast one on you! You don’t need to read the fine print on that credit card application or warranty. You trust that you’ll be paying exactly what they told you, and you’ll get exactly what you paid for.
10. Join and subscribe when you know better
You have that gym membership, but you’ve only been once. You have 15 magazine subscriptions and 15 stacks of magazines you’ve never read. You joined that auto club, but you sold your car six months ago. These things are good to have, though. Money well spent.
